Curtis Brown launches digital programme with Kindle Direct Publishing

Agency Curtis Brown has launched a digital self-publishing programme through Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace, in a venture primarily aimed at breaking UK authors into the US market.

Writers including Tony Parsons, Adele Parks, Colin Bateman, Emily Barr and Rosie Goodwin are among those with books in the launch programme, set to be released as e-books and as print-on-demand by CB Creative Books. The publishing programme includes over 200 titles and begins this month (December).

Curtis Brown’s joint c.e.o. Jonny Geller said: “We are excited to work with Amazon on this initiative to reach new audiences for our authors. Primarily geared toward breaking UK based authors in the US, we are able to work with our authors to find new ways of getting to the readers they so richly deserve.”

The move will make the entire backlist of novelist Adele Parks available on Kindle for the first time in the US. She said: “I'm so delighted to be part of this evolutionary opportunity... My US fans have been continually calling for an e-book offering, so fingers crossed they'll be as pleased as I am.”

CB Creative Books follows other initiatives, including the new Curtis Brown Creative website launched this year to take submissions online, and the start this week of a six-month course for novelists with Tony Parsons as guest tutor.

Anna Davis, Director of the Curtis Brown Creative Writing School said: “Curtis Brown Creative is all about empowering writers, both new and established. It’s great that Amazon has enabled us to help our clients launch their fantastic backlists into territories where they have not previously been published and to promote their books effectively to readers.”

Already available on Amazon.com from CB Creative are titles including Colette Caddle's Between the Sheets (UK e-book with Simon & Schuster), Stranded by Emily Barr (UK e-book by Review) and Zoe Miller's Rival Passions (UK e-book with Hachette Digital). All are being priced at $7.99.